


hidden treasure

by irlkaijugroupie



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Dragon AU, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Misunderstandings, Slow burn friendship, bc this fic isnt gonna be super long. So, emil is a dragon hunter, it just grows over time, lalli is a dragon, the other ssss main characters make minor appearances, the slow burn friendship. isnt rlly slow burn, this is the streams fault!!, two idiots go on adventures together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-08-05 00:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16356911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlkaijugroupie/pseuds/irlkaijugroupie
Summary: Emil has ventured out into a dark, foggy, muddy forest by a small village in hopes of hunting down a dragon that the whole town fears terribly. Turns out there's a lot more to the dragon than what the people have told him.





	1. the valiant, chivalrous dragon hunter

**Author's Note:**

> STREAM THIS IS ALL UR FAULT
> 
> this is multichaptered but im goin out on a whim here no planning babey!! except for some vague planning
> 
> if u dont know context in the stream that is going on As I Post This minna is drawing dragon lalli and dragon hunter emil
> 
> enjoy u bastard people

Emil’s nerves thrummed with anxiety as he walked through the misty blue forest. The fog made it hard to see, and the armor he wore felt heavy on his shoulders as he walked. His eyes glanced from side to side, trying to see anything, anything of the ‘ghost dragon’ that the people of the nearby town had warned him in shaky and stuttering voices just yesterday, and his knuckles ached as he gripped his sword much too tight. He regretted volunteering to hunt the dragon down already, but he swallowed his anxiety and toughed it out.

 

As he stomped through the peaty and wet soil, his nerves grew tighter and tighter. The forest was completely silent other than the faint whistling of the breeze. His hands began to shake.

 

“Dammit…” he mumbled under his breath. He should just go back and just say he never saw it, then leave and never come back. He’d already wasted almost a whole day in these soggy woods.

 

Then he heard a faint huffing noise behind him, and he shrieked, flailing as he spun around, sword up and ready and pointed forward, only to see - nothing. Emil groaned and dropped his sword, and was about to turn around when he smelled smoke. And his head felt hot. Frozen in terror, he raised his hand to the back of his head and felt… fire.

 

“OH MY -” He screamed, and stumbled backwards into a tree, dropping his sword as he tried to snuff the fire out. Stumbling back, back, past the tree, as he tried in vain to stop the fire from feeding on his hair. His foot then caught on a rock, and he fell back into the mud.

 

Very, very slowly, he sat up, out of the mud, grimacing when he felt the back of his head - and his cape - covered in mud. At least the fire was out. 

 

With aching hands and a sore back, he got up with great effort. He continued to rub the back of his head, and frowned. What if all his hair was burned off? The front area of his hair was mostly untouched, but the back felt short and charred. His anxiety bloomed.

 

In a panic, he scrambled to dig through all of his pockets, looking for his mini mirror that he always carried on him. (It wasn’t vanity, mirrors were very necessary!) Once he found it, he flipped it open and looked at his reflection.

 

He felt like he was going to cry.

 

His once lovely hair was charred, most of it, even some parts in the front, was burnt and black, and the back was practically unsalvageable. It was a mess! The front still kept some length, but it looked so strange with the burnt back. His hands began to shake. What else would have caused his hair to be set on fire, other than the dragon the village had warned him - a dragon hunter - so eagerly about? His anxiety grew quickly into a furious simmer.

 

“DAMN YOU!” He shouted into the woods, his words echoing through the eerie fog. He clenched his hands. He needed his sword. He stomped through the mud, looking for where he had dropped his sword. Bending over, he searched through the mud by the tree he ran into in search of it, just in case it had sunk.

 

It was nowhere.

 

His anger had been drowned by a new wave of panic as he searched more and more through the mud around him, with no positive results. He shrieked in despair, burying his face in his hands, despite the large amount of mud on them. It was the dragon! The dragon took his damn sword! Of course it did, dragons love shiny things.

 

He couldn’t go back to the village now, not when he had been shamed so badly. But how would he survive in the woods without his sword? He had some other tools on him, and some food. He would have to find the dragon within the few days he had with him.

 

Biting his lip as his gut welled with shame, he took the small pocket knife he had on him, grabbed at the longer parts of his hair, and sliced it off. He checked his mirror again, and groaned at the man that looked back at him. Short, charred, muddy hair that stuck up in all directions. He hated this!

 

He curled his hands into fists again. He’d find that dragon, get his sword, and slay it, and return to the town in triumph. He would!

 

* * *

 

He regretted every single decision he had ever made in his life up until this moment with a burning passion.

 

It was nearing the morning, not that he could tell very well in this dismal place. The fog seemed like it was choking him as he slogged on, chewing on a small piece of dried meat pathetically. He felt, quite frankly, like shit. He was covered in mud, all he had was a small, barely useful knife as a weapon, and he was searching for a dragon whom not the best dragon slayers have ever been able to catch. Without even thinking, he kept rubbing at the burnt fuzz on the back of his head, despite the shame that pooled in him without fail every time.

 

He kicked at a rock that was in his way in frustration, then howled in pain when it didn’t budge. Goddamnit! This day just kept getting worse and worse. But he continued to slog through the mud. At least he didn’t have to face the townspeople, he tried to convince himself as he walked. 

 

Then he stepped on something crunchy.

 

Shock flooded his mind as he stepped back and looked at the mud where he just stepped, and saw nothing. Shoving aside his pride, he immediately threw his hands into the mud and felt something metallic. He lifted it out of the mud and shook the grime off of it.

 

It was a silver watch!   
  
Joy bubbled up in him. A watch! Something shiny and metallic! That means the dragon, or wherever it kept its hoard, was nearby. Quickly, he pocketed the watch and scrabbled in the mud around the area. It didn’t take long for him to find something else: a broken plate of metallic armor. It was too big for him to pocket, but he continued to search, finding more and more things: a brooch, a necklace with runes engraved into metallic coins (he wasn’t too religious himself, but he gave into wearing the abandoned necklace nonetheless), and some torn up chainmail.

 

“This is the best day of my life!” Emil whispered to himself, and though he never thought he’d say that when he’d be scrabbling through the mud, dirty and hungry and tired and aching, he meant it.

 

And he continued to scrabble through the mud, following a trail of abandoned metal trinkets through the woods to what he hoped was the famed dragon’s hoard.


	2. encounter

Emil woke up from a sleepy haze to a literally foggy haze, and was momentarily confused on where he was. Then he remembered, and emotions flooded him. His hair! The trinkets! The town!

 

The dragon!

 

He surged up from the tree he was resting against in a rush of adrenaline, but then his neck began to throb, and he immediately flopped back down. Frustration replaced the adrenaline. He was so close to the dragon! And yet… he was held back by pain and the threat of running out of food and having to either find what he can in the forest or go back to town loomed over him.

 

Something else, more physical, also loomed over him. He stared at the shadow that held over his body and, frozen in terror, he slowly turned his head up (trying his hardest to ignore the crick in his neck) and almost cried by what he saw above him.

 

It was the dragon.

 

He tried to move, to run away, to shriek, anything, but he was in so much pain he couldn’t do anything except for stare up at the elegant white dragon that curled above him. Its body weaved through the trees like a snake in brush, and its fur - it had fur! - was a radiant white. Geometric designs decorated its back in a light orange. It looked at him with a cool, neutral expression, and unblinking eyes, and Emil whimpered.

 

“Please.. Don’t kill me?” He croaked, and he did a double take by how  _ tired _ he sounded. The dragon cocked its head and he flinched.

 

Then - in a horrifying instant - the dragon reached down and snatched his armor in its huge maws. Emil shrieked loudly as he was picked up like a mouse in a cats jaws, half because of the pain that laced through his body and half because  _ oh my gods the dragon picked him up he was going to be killed he was going to be eaten _ . The dragon lifted its head back up and then began to run, hopping from tree to tree like a squirrel, oh so graceful in its movements that took Emil’s breath away.

 

Eventually, they reached a cave, its stone jaws open and so dark that Emil almost started screaming again - though he did actually begin to scream when the dragon immediately dived into the cave.

 

“Oh gods, it’s taking me to its hoard and it’s going to eat me,” Emil whimpered under his breath as the dragon continued to weave its way through the darkness, and farther and farther down until they reached what Emil assumed to be its hoard.

 

It was nearly dark if it were not for the faint light that emitted from the dragon, and from what Emil could see it was a huge pile of various things the dragon had collected: suits of armor, hundreds of swords, even clocks. The dragon dropped Emil on the top of it like a ragdoll, and it blew fire into a pile of wood it kept on the corner of the pile. (Emil vaguely wondered why it had a pile of wood, since it seemed like it liked the dark.)

 

Though he could barely move from the aching, Emil tried his best to drag his body as close as he could to the fire, and sighed deeply in relief at the soothing warmth. He heard shuffling behind him, and he looked back to see the dragon curled on top of the huge pile, and Emil felt his heart shake from fear slightly.

 

“Are you… not going to eat me?” Emil wheezed out from his aching throat, and he coughed roughly. With shaky hands, he grabbed his - slowly emptying - flask of water and greedily gulped some down.

 

Once he was done drinking, the dragon shifted closer to Emil, and he shivered. “Oh,” he mumbled. “Are you going to eat me now?”

 

The dragon then shifted its head slightly, almost as if it was shaking its head, and then reached out with and rested one of its huge paws on Emil’s head, making Emil duck down slightly, which in turn made all the treasure in his pockets jingle. Emil began to breathe faster and faster, and he tried to count his breaths.

 

“Do you…” Emil spoke hesitantly. “Want my treasure?” When the dragon did nothing, he continued. “Alright I’ll give it to you… Just don’t eat me please and thank you.” Emil began to empty his pockets of all the treasure he had, then pushed the pile over to the dragon.

 

The dragon blinked, as if surprised, but nonetheless took the paw from his head and dropped the treasure Emil gave him into the pile. Much to Emil’s worry, the dragon didn’t seem completely satisfied, but it seemed content.

 

“Do you want me to do anything else…?” Emil strained out again, and he could feel his vocal chords begin to give up on him again, but he didn’t want to drink more water so soon. In response, the dragon turned its attention away from him and curled up into a ball, like a cat.

 

Wallowing in confusion, Emil looked at the dragon for a minute or two longer to see if it would give him any more recognition, but it didn’t, so he laid back onto the cold stone floor and was swept up in a restless sleep once again.


	3. assistance to the other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOHOO heres more ! ive written ahead lads ill post some more tomorrow, and then the next day, and so on and so forth
> 
> this grows more cheesy and self indulgent by the minute but Fuck You im having fun

Emil woke up gods know when, feeling slightly better than yesterday.

 

The wood had long burned out, but the dragon still glowed slightly, and Emil turned around to gaze at the dragon. Without fear and pain clouding him, the dragon did look rather beautiful, its short fur a gorgeous shade of radiant white. Dragons were beautiful, but they were very dangerous. Emil quietly wondered why the dragon had scorched his hair, but was nice to him otherwise.

 

After an hour or so of Emil just laying there, the dragon shifted, slowly waking. It uncurled from its sleeping position and stretched its front limbs forward.  _ This dragon is rather catlike _ , Emil thought with amusement.

 

The dragon then turned to look at him with its piercing blue eyes. Emil chuckled nervously. “Uh - hi?” He squeaked out, but again, his voice did not behave. Emil put a hand on his throat, trying to swallow away the pain and dryness.

 

“Uh - gimme a minute,” he strained out as he forced some dried beef and a swig of water down his throat. He sloshed his water canteen around, and frowned when he heard the telltale sound that meant it was running low on water. He frowned.

 

With great effort, he saw that the exit was across from him. He’d have to crawl over the large hoard of treasure to get to it and then (hopefully) find water. Despite his gut filling with apprehension, he knew he had to at least try.

 

Wobbling, he got up and started to climb onto the hoard of treasure, when the dragon  _ lunged _ forward with a loud hiss. Emil shrieked and stumbled backwards, his back running into the charred remains of the fire wood. The dragon twisted into an offensive position as it growled at Emil.

 

“Alright! Alright! I won’t climb on your stuff!” Emil yelled out, though his voice soon fizzled out and Emil began to cough and cough and cough. “I just…” He croaked out. “I need water. And food.”

 

The dragon seemed to calm down at that, its body resuming its curled up position. Its tail swung around to press Emil into the ground, a gesture that meant ‘stay here’. With a great pump of its large wings, it then flew out of the cave, leaving Emil totally and utterly alone.

 

* * *

 

About three or four hours passed before the dragon came back, and Emil stayed in the same place the whole time. Staying in the same spot and not touching anything was absolute agony, and he often slipped from a light sleep to a drowsy awakeness.

 

When the dragon did come back, it was holding a large jug and a crate. It dropped the two by Emil’s feet then returned to curling around its hoard, looking at him apprehensively. Its coat looked stained, but Emil kept all his attention on what the dragon gave him.

 

With what little strength he had, he reached out and dragged the jug to where he could drink from it. He took two greedy gulps before he broke out into a big grin. It was water! He drank some more before setting it aside and looking in the crate. It was filled with various vegetables and fruit, probably a crate of some merchant. Emil took a couple of things from the crate - a tomato and two apples, and ate through them quickly.

 

Already feeling a lot better, he looked up at the dragon. “You got this just for me? Thank you!” He exclaimed, his throat much more agreeable now. The dragon just shifted, and that’s when Emil noticed that the shining coat was marred with a large red spot on one of its front paws.

 

Emil’s grin rapidly turned into a frown. “What… What happened?” Emil asked, and he got up to get a closer look, but the dragon only growled and curled up tighter. Unable to get closer, Emil squinted, and saw that, though there was no arrow in the dragon, the flesh had a large, but shallow hole in it, as if it had been brushed by a large projectile. A pang of sympathy overpowered his general fear towards the dragon.

 

“I can… I can help you with that,” he spoke hesitantly, but the dragon only growled at him. Emil began to take off his cape and wipe some of the mud that was on it off. “No really, I can, here.” He held out the cape. “I can bandage it and maybe clean it.”

 

The dragon continued to glare at him, and Emil sighed. “Can you just let me help you? It’s fine if you don’t want me to, but it’s the least I could do after you gave me all this food and water.”

 

The dragon looked at him for a very long moment, before exhaling and extending its paw out. Emil broke out into a grin, and walked over to the dragon’s paw. He must’ve walked over a bit too quickly, because the dragon retracted its paw a little bit. He quickly slowed down and crouched next to the paw. Straining a little bit, he reached back to grab the water jug and pour some water on the wound, before wrapping the cape around the paw, tying it tight. With a satisfied smile, Emil patted the paw and leaned back.

 

“There you go!” He said to the dragon. The dragon slowly retracted the paw, then looked at Emil with its deep eyes. It tilted its head forward slightly, before curling around to sleep.

 

Emil sighed, then leaned back on the floor. Questions floated through his head. He was supposed to kill the dragon. But the dragon had shown him kindness. It had brought him food and water - stolen from some poor farmer probably - and took a blow for him, a coward who had stupidly gone into a place he shouldn’t have to kill it. He grew restless the more he thought, but his ache overpowered his worry, and he slowly drifted back into a gentle sleep.


	4. worsening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs* my depression is acting up rn and im very busy so sorry this isnt as good as it could be

“That boy…” a scruffy man spoke. “What was his name? Emil? He hasn’t been back in a couple of days. Is he alright?”   
  
The bartender sighed. “He left to go slay that terrible dragon in the woods. He probably got eaten or killed otherwise by it.”   
  
The scruffy man frowned. “Oh that’s a shame. He was a bit full of himself, but he was a good kid.” The bartender nodded and continued to clean the table as the man drank.

 

Then, a terrified and panicked farmer burst in. “HEY!!!” The farmer sat in a bar stool and slumped over the bar. “Gimme your strongest,” he spoke in a weary voice. The bartender nodded, but looked concerned nonetheless.

 

“What happened?” The scruffy man asked. The farmer groaned.

 

“I got raided by that damn dragon! It stole some of my water and crops, then just left!” The farmer clenched his fist in fury. “The nerve of that fucking thing! I did manage to scrape it, but not hit it full on.” The bartender handed the man his drink, and the farmer eagerly downed some of it. “I wish someone would just grow the balls to kill it!”

 

“The last kid who went out - Emil - hasn’t been back since,” the scruffy man said in response. “Guess we’ll have to wait until someone else volunteers. I know none of us can afford anything.”

 

The farmer sighed. “That’s a shame.”

 

The bartender started work on cleaning a glass. “You know, he may not be dead. Just taking his time. The dragon  _ is _ a very stealthy creature.”

 

The scruffy man grimaced. “I think you’re being too hopeful. No one who’s tried to hunt down that thing has lived.”

 

* * *

 

Lalli thought the hunter was an idiot.

 

It was a shame that such beautiful treasure had belonged to such an idiotic man. An idiotic man who was stupid enough to go after him, a quiet breeze, an elegant dragon, when the man knew not a thing about keeping quiet. And he was also stupid in the way that when Lalli asked him for the treasure he bore, he offered the things Lalli had found and dropped somewhere in the swamp. Not that Lalli minded, but it showed that the man didn’t understand what Lalli was looking for.

 

Lalli was also mad at himself, though. What was gorgeous and shiny treasure was now charred and muddy and dirty and short, pathetic compared to what the man had before.

 

But… when the man - a hunter no less - had used some precious water and the clothing off his own back to help Lalli with something Lalli could have easily toughed out - well. That was something Lalli didn’t expect.

 

All Lalli wanted to do was rest, but he had these stupid villagers sending stupid hunters after him, and now he was stuck with this stupid, treasureless man who was doing things no sane human would.

 

He’d wait for the man to heal, then he’d make the man leave, and that would be the end of that.

 

* * *

 

Emil woke up feeling dirty.

 

He sat up with a loud yawn, and he rubbed the back of his head, feeling the short, blackened, dirty hairs that rested on the back of his head. He groaned. With much less shaky hands than they’d been the last couple of days, he removed his gloves and reached into the crate to find something to eat. A potato and an apple. He turned to look at the dragon and saw it looking at him.

 

He raised up the tuber and the fruit. “Potato or apple?” He asked it, and it huffed in surprise, thinking for a minute, then pointed its snout at the apple. Emil tossed the apple at the dragon, and the dragon caught the apple in its large maws and ate it whole. The human suppressed a shiver of fear, but leaned back and ate the potato.

 

As he ate, his mind began to wander. What was up with the forest? It was shrouded in a choking and blinding mist all around the clock, and even though Emil was just exhausted, it seemed to weigh down his very bones. Though Emil knew he shouldn’t rule out a curse, he found himself hesitant to think of that as the cause. Maybe something was wrong with  _ him _ .

 

With a loud grunt, he shifted to try and stand up, but pain shot through him in his legs, hips, abdomen. Emil let out a loud wince of pain and fell back down onto the stone floor, his harsh impact only making the pain worse. The dragon made a soft sound and Emil sighed. “My wounds are healing really slowly,” he said. Immediately after he said that, he wondered why he did. Was he expecting a response? Sympathy? He was talking to a dragon.

 

He took a few minutes to try and stretch his arms and legs, but all he got was intense pain and cramping, and he slumped down onto the cave floor in frustration. He knew he had to face the pain eventually. After all, he’d have to get out of the cave and away from the dragon - which was watching him lazily the whole time - but in the state he was in right now he didn’t see that happening any time soon.

 

Why were his wounds worsening? Why was the forest so… nasty? Why did he of all people have to be stuck in a stuffy cave with a jumpy dragon that could lose its sympathy (if even that) at any second and bite his head off? He moved to rest his hands on his face but his arms hurt to do so, and he relented to the pain and sat there on the floor of the cave until he got bored enough to slip into a pained nap, edged by nightmares of abstract horrors.

 

Yeah… something was up in this forest.


	5. talk of the outer world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOP this is a bit late than what id like but mental illness is Kicking my Ass so bear with me
> 
> make no mistake i do wanna do this i just. have no energy

Though Emil’s initial aches and shakiness went away, he still felt tired. Dreadfully tired. He tried to stand up quite often throughout the day, and every time he felt shaky, like a leaf blowing in imaginary wind. The dragon left occasionally, but it mostly slept.

 

And with not just its quiet nature, but its sleeping, came deafening silence, except for the crackle of the fire that Emil burned - not too much, the dragon could only get so much wood, and it disliked too much light.

 

Emil wondered how long it would take for these aches to heal, so he could just leave. And until then, he would have to deal with this quiet, stubborn dragon, the very thing which had got him into this mess, and was now right in front of him! But he could do nothing but sit and think in the crushing silence.

 

So, to cope, he began to talk.

 

To the dragon, to the silence, whatever, he just talked and talked until his throat grew too tired to move.

 

The first day of talking he began to mumble quietly after he had eaten about the hills of his hometown. The dragon had jolted as it ate, and Emil paused, but it didn’t do anything, so he continued. It seemed mildly miffed, but the talking was so relieving to Emil that his quiet mumbling about his hometown grew into a long and winding about rides through the countryside, the world outside of this stuffy cave that Emil had been stuck in for four days.

 

The second day of talking the dragon seemed still slightly annoyed, but almost interested as Emil drew from talk of the hills of Sweden into a droning recital of Emil’s mother’s cookbook. He remembered almost the whole thing off the top of his head, and listed recipe after recipe for hours until he physically couldn’t talk, and all he could do was take a swig of water and eat a veggie or two - not before tossing some to the dragon of course - and taking a restless sleep.

 

It hadn’t even been a week, but it seemed like the stuffy and warm air of the cave was all he’d ever known, the memories of the blue sky above and the rolling hills of his home distant and fuzzy. It made his chest hurt.

 

* * *

 

Lalli didn’t want to hear this.

 

The dragon hunter had begun to talk, to ramble, perhaps some attempt at coping with what he was doing. His quiet, hoarse voice grated at Lalli’s ears as he spoke of beautiful green rolling hills that he could describe down to the last flower - and did he have any choice? Lalli thought he was an idiot - talking would only slow the healing of his throat.

 

So he turned away and let the hunter ramble on and on and on - but Lalli didn’t have to listen. It didn’t interest him.

 

* * *

 

Lalli was turned away from the babbling hunter once again, not listening to he was saying, the mumbling incoherent to his ears.

 

“...The sky was so blue over there…”

 

Lalli did a double take. A blue sky… Now that was something he hadn’t seen in a while. But! It was talking and Lalli did not want to hear it.

 

“...It would fall ever so gently, and I loved seeing the perfect pure white of the snow, and as a kid I loved messing it up even more…”

 

So he was talking about the outside world. The thought of the outside world made Lalli’s heart ache, so he turned away once again.

 

“In spring, the garden was so gorgeous, and I loved seeing the roses, all deep red, and the petals that would curve delicately around each other like a whirlpool…”

 

Lalli shifted slightly. The topic of conversation was tugging at Lalli incessantly, the need to listen growing very fast. After some more minutes of deliberation, Lalli relented, and turned to listen.

 

Soon enough, Lalli was sucked into a world of flowing green grass and tall mountains and white snow hat whirled through the sky, pure, good, and he spoke of a sky that was clear and blue and dotted with white clouds - but also sometimes a deep gray - and Lalli’s guts twisted. That was not the sky that rested around this large forest, dark and choking and smothering. It was a sky he had not seen in a very long time. Lalli could almost feel the soft grass that the hunter spoke of with incredible detail, he could almost smell the flowers, almost feel the refreshing breeze on his face. Almost. But - it was the best that Lalli had gotten in years.

 

So he listened with increasing interest - but also increasing concern.

 

The hunter should be recovering, standing easier, coughing less, speaking easier, but his condition only worsened. His legs shook like a tree in a windstorm, his face pallid, his eyes slumped in tiredness.

 

Lalli knew what was doing this. But there was nothing he could do. And, as reluctant as he was to admit it, he was beginning to care about the idiot hunter.

 

* * *

 

It was the fourth day of talking.

 

The hunter was talking about the coast of Norway, and the small bits he saw from a small gig with some Norwegians. He was talking about the fjords, the tall dark stones, and the turbulent sea as it writhed against the sharp and jutting coast.

 

“I was out on the beach one night,” he spoke with a small voice. Lalli listened. “The ocean was so beautiful. The stars reflected in the dark black water, and they warped, and so did the moon. The moon it,” Emil’s eyes closed, and he tried to force them open. “The moon it…” Emil’s voice fell into a mumble, and then into nothing as he slipped unconscious. Lalli reared up in alarm.

 

He didn’t think Emil would be in this much danger! Lalli stuck his head out to push at Emil gently, but his body only slumped against Lalli’s snout. A fierce panic welled up in Lalli’s chest, and almost without thinking, he grabbed Emil in his jaws and flew out of his cave, out, out into the choking mist and dark, pressing sky of the forest that he could never quite leave. 

 

Lalli flew, weaving his way through the trees and the shadows until he came upon the town that lied at the very edge of the forest - the absolute maximum that Lalli could go.

 

He knew it was a gamble. It could very well end badly. But the hunter needed help - and godsdamnit, Lalli had gotten himself attached to him, and it was too late now to just leave the hunter to the elements without the immeasurable guilt.


	6. the misunderstanding and the mage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> booyah babey

When Reynir saw the dragon, something more than fear - more celestial, more divine, yet horrible in the strangest sense - swelled in his chest.

 

He had never intended to stay in the town for more than a day. It was a transition, a break in the journey to far more interesting places. But then there was the dragon that flooded the fears and rumors of the townspeople, flying out with its brilliant white wings (was that a person in its jaws?) right out into the heart of town.

 

Reynir felt something strange bloom in his chest. It wasn’t quite an emotion, almost a burst of energy, of power. With white knuckles, he gripped at the fabric of his shirt that covered his chest, his mouth agape as the dragon shrieked and beat its wings to defend itself against the wrath of the villagers.

 

Surprise flooded him, and everyone else, when they all saw the dragon, amidst all the panicking, gently set a body on the ground.

 

“IT’S THE KID!” Someone to Reynir’s left shrieked. “THE DRAGON HUNTER!”

 

The crowd surged up around the body, leaving Reynir back in the thrown up dirt as he stared, captivated, at the shining dragon. The cry of “HE’S ALIVE!” that wracked the crowd went almost unnoticed to Reynir.

 

He only watched as the dragon reared up, its shining coat now almost completely stained a sickening red, and weakly flew off into the vile woods, leaving Reynir in the dirt, on his knees, shaking as he felt a strange and foreign power flood his body and bones.

 

Reynir quietly wondered if this sensation came with being a mage around magical creatures or if it was the sign of something more sinister.

 

* * *

 

Emil woke up out of a fitful haze with voices all around him. Wait - voices? Did the dragon talk?

 

“Oh, he’s awake!” Yeah that was not the dragon.

 

Hands shook and grabbed at him as he mindlessly babbled in panic. “Where, where am I?” He wheezed out.

 

“Don't worry boy,” some voice said. “You’re in town now. That damn dragon dropped you off.”

 

Panic seized Emil, but not for the reason the other people in the room thought. “Hey, don't worry boy! It's gone now, it's not gonna hurt you anymore.”

 

Emil's eyes flew open and he tried to scramble off of the bed that they had placed him on. Hands tried to hold him back, but he managed to wriggle off the bed and land on the wood floor with a painful thump. “Why…” he wheezed out lowly, his voice breaking. “Why did he…”

 

He scrambled up off the floor and ran out of the room, his feet faltering and stumbling, as people behind him yelled for him.

 

It turns out he was in the hotel he had stayed at before he left. In the lobby were quite a bit of people, and the man at the counter seemed preoccupied.

 

“You're extending your stay?” The man spoke to a young man with a long red braid. “You realize your school won't cover this right?”

 

The young man nodded. “I know. I just want to…” Emil shifted his focus away from them and noticed that people were staring at him.

 

He self-consciously flung one of his hands to rub at his messy, short, charred hair. “Ah…” he wheezed out. “I need to go back.”

 

“You will NOT boy!!!” Someone called out angrily from behind him. Hands grabbed at his shoulders and tugged him back. “That dragon is fearsome! It messed you up!”

 

“What…” Emil strained out hoarsely. “What happened to them?”

 

“We got it real bad, don't worry,” they smiled and Emil felt sickness roiling in his stomach. “Now, I don't know why it dropped you off, but I'm glad another death could've been prevented.”

 

Emil could barely hear them over his rampant thoughts. What happened to him? Why did the dragon leave him here? Why didn't they wake him up? Why indeed - since the dragon knew full well that if they went into the village that they would be attacked?

 

Emil stared out with tired eyes out at the crowd. “How long have I been out?” Emil mumbled. They patted him on the shoulder. 

 

“A couple of days,” they said, and Emil was immediately flung into panic.

 

He thought he was sleeping! He wasn't knocked out, or injured! Emil buried his face in his hands and wheezed loudly, and he heard more faint voices as they tugged him back to his room.

 

“You mustn't be feeling well,” they said. They set Emil on the bed. “Get some rest.”

 

So he tried.

 

* * *

 

Emil stumbled out of the hotel after his forced rest in the middle of the night. He marveled at the dark, open sky and breathed in the clear air.

 

The dragon was injured, possibly fatally. Emil sighed as he say on the porch of the hotel, the world around him - something other than the stuffiness of the forest around him - open and revealed to him. He had to go back.

 

He had no idea why the dragon had risked its life to leave him here, instead of just letting him heal. Perhaps he could get answers too.

 

* * *

 

“You're going back?!” They said. “Godsdamnit boy, are you still not well?”

 

“I'm fine, I just-” Emil swallowed and forced the lie from his throat. “I want to finish that dragon off. I got so close! I'm sure I can do it this time.”

 

They still looked hesitant, but Emil glared harder and harder, and they relented.

 

Food. He got more than normal (for the dragon, not that he would tell anyone) and at a discount too, probably out of sympathy. He got plenty of bandages and other medical items - at the excuse of maybe needing it himself - and lots of water. And, of course, a new sword.

 

As he begin to leave, that redheaded man from a couple of days ago stopped him.

 

“Hey uh-” he began. “When I saw that dragon, I felt a really bad aura around it. And the forest too.”

 

Emil looked at him, trying to suppress his frustration. “And?”

 

The redhead man gulped, and handed him a small coin. Emil took it and looked at the wooden surface, where an intricate rune was carved. Ah. This guy was a mage. “It’s to ward off evil. I’m only a student right now, but I’m the only mage in town right now, and I wanted to help,” the man said. “I’m Reynir, if you ever need me.”

 

Emil was silent for a very long moment. He pocketed the coin. “Thank you,” Emil said. The redheaded man smiled shyly, and Emil turned back to the forest to enter it once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emil u dumbass....


	7. again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a very faint but very loud yeehaw

Lalli shook as he wound himself tightly into the fetal position, tears almost leaking out of his eyes with how much he squeezed them shut. Concentration in spite of pain, that was all he’d felt for days now. He was hurting, and very badly - he dared not think fatally. He couldn’t die. He could not.

 

He was the only thing holding the curse back at this point. If he died, the taint would grow and spread and become so powerful that no mage could stop it. And now he was so close to death - and all for that idiot.

 

The hunter should be recovering now, up and walking and healthy, and far, far away from this damned forest. Safe.

  
Then he heard footsteps, and a familiar scent of burning and smoke, and Lalli began to tremble.

 

* * *

 

“Dragon…?” Emil called out softly into the dark of the familiar cavern. He saw their body, very faintly in the dim light, and gasped softly when he saw the blood that matted their fur. “Oh my gods!” He stepped forward, and he knew they saw him. “Let me help-”

 

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” The dragon reared up and roared at him, and Emil stumbled back in shock, surprised at both the sheer volume of the roar, and that it spoke. “WHY-” The roar quickly dwindled into wheezing and it lay its head back down onto the ground. “Why…”

 

Emil put up his hands in a show of surrender. “Don't worry! I feel a lot better, and I got some magical protection.” He took out the supplies he had. “I brought plenty of healing stuff and food.”

 

“You should have left, you should be far from here…” The dragon rumbled out quietly, and Emil looked up. 

 

“I…” Emil sighed. “I want to help you. And - and I don’t even know why you took me to the village in the first place, if you knew it’d get you hurt.” He slowly walked over to the dragon with the supplies, and continued to do so when he saw them do nothing to stop him.

 

“It was the forest that was sucking the life from you… I didn’t know it would affect you this early or I -” The dragon stopped talking with a huff. “As soon as you’re done you should go.”   
  
Emil blinked in surprise, but continued to wrap bandages around the wounds he saw. “It’s the forest? What happened to it?”

 

“A kade…” the dragon mumbled. “I’m the only thing left that’s holding it back from spreading.”   
  
After a second of thought, Emil brightened and patted the dragon’s back. “Well then we’ll just defeat it, hm?” The dragon lurched.

 

“That’s not how it -” It began angrily, but hissed in pain and sunk down again. “That’s not how it works,” it repeated, quieter.

 

“What else can we do?” Emil responded, and the dragon said nothing. More very long minutes passed as Emil went to wound after wound until the dragon was practically covered in bandages and stitches and ointments.

 

Emil let out a loud sigh and sat down next to the dragon with some food and water for the both of them. “So,” Emil said in between bites of apple. “What’s your name?”   
  
“Lalli,” the dragon muttered. Emil grinned.

 

“It’s nice to know you Lalli. I’m Emil,” he spoke confidently. Lalli hummed in acknowledgement. “How long do you think it’ll take for all that to heal?” Emil asked.

  
“Three weeks probably,” Lalli replied. Emil nodded, before curling up next to the dragon, falling asleep very quickly. The dragon soon followed suit.

 

* * *

 

A week later, the kid was back in town.

 

He walked into the bar with all the swagger and confidence of a professional. His face was slightly pale, his hands slightly shaky, faint signs of the sickness that had overcome him returning. People crowded him, asking him what happened, how he was, did he kill the dragon, but he pushed past all of them, slammed his hand on the counter, and asked with utmost sincerity: “I need a mirror.”

 

* * *

 

Emil looked at himself in the mirror. Most importantly: at his hair.

 

It was still charred and brittle, slightly better than the day it had been burned up, but still so. With a kind of manic urgency, he had dunked his hair under water and scrubbed and scrubbed at it until all the mud and dirt that had been on it had come off, and he saw how the strands broke under his fingertips and fell at his feet until there was practically a small pile of ashes. When he was all done, he looked back up at himself in the mirror.

 

His hair was dreadfully short, at most 8 centimeters, but even then it was much shorter in some places. It was uneven, and short, still unhealthy, and absolutely terrible looking. But it was golden.

 

He’d restock, recover, and go back to the dragon. Lalli. And that was that.


	8. the effort one puts into a friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god this is super late but i was very busy the past few weeks lmao...
> 
> ill be less so soon so thats good!
> 
> also im planning on art for the next chapter :D
> 
> itll be my art ofc sdjfjdfjnfn

Emil coughed, rubbing his eyes, trying in vain to rid his eyes of the stinging fog of the forest. He was making his way to the dragon, once again, with fresh new supplies. The mage hadn’t been in town that day, so he had to make do with the older rune, and doubted it would hold up as well as it had for his last trip. He could practically see the effects. He had run into a couple of strange, diseased monsters already.

 

With a long sigh, Emil went over to take a break, leaning on a tree and taking a swig of water. He quietly rubbed at his short, spiky hair with a frown in complete silence, until -

 

A faint howling.

 

His eyes wide open in anxiety, Emil very slowly put his water canister back on his hip and slowly reached for his sword. He held the sword with white knuckles and hands that shook ever so slightly. Very gently and slowly, he moved away from the tree and turned to where he heard the sound.

 

He saw a dog. It had long, grey fur, which was matted with blood, and even from far away Emil could see that it was diseased by the way it moved, the red on it, the writhing under its skin. It was heading towards him too, running and howling in an indecipherable emotion.

 

Emil swallowed his fear and unsheathed his sword, turning to where the dog was, watching with steady teal eyes as it sprinted to him, running, running, and as he raised his sword up, up, ready to strike it as it. But… it ran right past him, making him stumble back in shock.

 

“Wha-” Emil exclaimed. He turned towards the direction it had come from. Was it scared of something?

 

He squinted, looking through the dark fog and the trees, looking carefully for anything out there. He gasped slightly when something came out of the mist and moisture.

 

A red light.

 

Emil seized up in pure terror, his eyes locked on the light that pierced through the fog like it was an ethereal sword. He didn’t know what it was, but it let off such strange and horrible feelings.  _ Maybe that dog had the right idea, _ he thought as he turned around and bolted into the woods where he knew Lalli was, never looking back.

 

By the time he had stumbled into the familiar cave entrance he was well out of breath, partially from running so much, and partially from carrying so much. He leaned against the walls as he made his way into the main chamber, and smiled as he saw Lalli’s shining form.

 

“Why do you keep coming back,” Lalli groaned from his spot in the scattered treasure. Emil sighed in relief.

 

“You’re not very good at keeping me away,” he grinned.

 

Lalli huffed, then looked up at him with his piercing eyes. “Your hair… it’s golden again.”

 

Emil’s grin softened into a small smile. “Yeah… it is.”

 

* * *

 

The fire was comforting and warm, and kept the cave in a comfortably dim light. Lalli was stretched out, giving Emil easy access to the wounds that Emil needed to re-apply dressings too. That was what Emil was currently busy with, actually, and he stayed quiet as he took off the bandages, cleaned up the wounds - which were already healing! - and put on fresh gauze. Lalli was quietly eating some bread and fruit.

 

“There we go,” Emil said, patting Lalli’s back. “All done!” The bandages were now fresh and new, and Emil marveled at how quickly those - very many - wounds had begun to heal.

 

“Mh,” Lalli replied, and Emil chuckled.

 

“Oh yeah, I brought something extra you might like!” Emil grinned as he walked over to their food stash, rummaging through it before he brought out a bag of cookies. “Cookies!” Emil chirped. He took some out and handed them to Lalli, who held them in his paw. Emil smiled as he saw his friend inquisitively sniff the cookies, before hesitantly eating one. His smile grew as he saw Lalli blink in shock, before quickly eating all the rest.

 

“Don’t worry, I have a lot more than this one bag,” Emil smiled, taking a couple of cookies for himself before dumping the rest out for Lalli. They sat in comfortable silence, eating the sweets.

 

“...Thank you,” Lalli said quietly once done. Emil beamed back.

 

His smile quickly dimmed, however. “Hey, uh, Lalli,” he mumbled, and Lalli turned to look at him. “On the way here… I saw a diseased dog running away from a - a red light.” The instant the words left his lips, Lalli seized up.

 

“You-” Lalli wheezed out, his body taut with fear, and Emil leaned to him in concern. “You saw It.”

 

Emil nodded hesitantly, and Lalli lunged forward to grab him, wrapping his large body around Emil, who he gently held in his paws. “It’ll know you’re here,” Lalli said. “So I just have to hide you from easy sight while we’re asleep.”

 

“Ah,” Emil replied, somewhat shocked and overwhelmed by Lalli’s closeness. He quickly settled, however, and shuffled down under Lalli’s large paws. “Okay. Good night Lalli.”

  
  
“Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dragon cuddles!!!!!
> 
> idk if itll be exactly the it in the comic and how That works, but theyll be kinda similar i suppose lmao


	9. recovery, a gift, and the norwegian army

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah uhhh sorry for the delay i just got more depressed lmao
> 
> sorry if this seems repetitive or not my best work (its not - tbh this whole fic isnt im just fuckin around w it) im not at my highest right now so uh. ya

 

“I come from a long line of dragons that have defended these lands,” Lalli rumbled out quietly on another dark and warm night in the cave. Emil looked up at him.

 

“There used to be so much more of us,” the dragon continued, and Emil paused his eating to listen. “And the forest used to be so much larger. And healthier. Better. One day that kade had come in. It poisoned the land. It killed us. It kept the forest in a - a cloak of sickness.” Emil leaned back on one hand and noted how Lalli’s long, winding body - already much healthier, thank goodness! - coiled and tightened in anger and sadness, even if the dragon’s voice was as raspy as ever.

 

“And I’ve - I’ve never been strong enough to defeat it,” Lalli wheezed out. “All my strength is put to keeping that kade’s influence from spreading.”

 

Emil bit his lip. “I’m… I’m sorry Lalli.” He paused to think about what to say. “Well.. now that I’m here, I could help with defeating the kade.”

 

Lalli huffed. “If  _ I _ can’t defeat it,  _ you _ can’t.”

 

“Hey!” Emil protested, and Lalli swung around to look at him.

 

“It’s the truth! That thing killed my entire family some way or another, and it might not be at its peak anymore, but you’d die trying to fight it.” Lalli surged up, his snout up close to Emil’s face. “Don’t fight it.”

 

Emil, stunned somewhat at the proximity, nodded rapidly. “I won’t, I won’t.” He winced, and sighed deeply. “I just… I wanna help you, Lalli.”

 

Lalli leaned back, looking at Emil for a long moment without speaking, before turning to the large hoard of shiny treasures he kept in the cave. Confused and curious, Emil watched as Lalli dug his snout and front paws through the treasure, only stopping once he found what he want.

 

A large shield with an intricate rune fell at Emil’s feet. It looked familiar to him. He knew that rune of protection… those colours…

 

“The Norwegian army?!” Emil cried. “What do you want with them?”

 

  
“I don’t want them,” Lalli jabbed back, pushing the shield over to Emil. “I want you to have it. It’ll help you.”

  
  
“Help me with what? I thought yo-”

  
  
“Leaving.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh, we’re so glad you’re here Captain Eide!” The bartender cried out as he poured and passed around drinks for all the soldiers that began to fill up the bar.

 

The Captain laughed, walking up to the bar with a swagger in her step and slamming a fist down. She had short, but wild red hair, and a large grin. “Is it about that dragon in the forest?”

 

The bartender nodded eagerly. “It’s been around for a while but recently this kid - this very young man, went into the woods and has been in and out for several weeks. It’s worried this whole town, and we’re all very on edge.”

 

Captain Eide smiled and tilted her head in acknowledgement, taking an eager swig of her drink. “I gotcha buddy. Though -” she leaned forward. “What’s this kid look like?”   
  
“His name was Emil something or other, Swedish kid, no more than twenty, had long golden hair that got all burnt off in his initial confrontation with the dragon. He’s a very determined guy, I’ll admit, though he’s crazy for repeatedly going after the dragon despite what it did to him.”

 

The Captain fiddled with the glass in her hands. “Hmm… Emil… sounds familiar, I probably met him on some stint with the Swedes a while back.”   
  
“I know you’re just passing through for the week, Captain,” the bartender pleaded, “But we’d really appreciate the help.”   
  
She nodded. “I’ll see what we can do.”   


 

* * *

“LEAVE?!” Emil sprung up, staring at Lalli incredulously, gripping the shield tightly. “Godsdamnit Lalli, for the last time, I’m not leaving! I’m helping you!” His voice was firm, but wavered ever so slightly.

 

Lalli uncoiled, his long body swaying through the cavern and knocking some treasure over. He leaned his snout down and glared at Emil. “You stupid idiot!” Lalli cried out. “This place will kill you. It isn’t worth it.”

 

“You’re  _ my friend _ , Lalli! I-”

 

“Don’t start,” Lalli interrupted, his voice taut and shaky. “When I burned you up and left you disoriented, I had no intention of being your friend, of helping you. I saw that hair of yours as treasure. It was so golden and it lured me in, but I destroyed it. I helped you and roped you into something you should’ve never gotten into.”

 

All the anger drained from Emil, and his shoulders slumped at he looked at the shining white dragon in front of him.

 

“I’m almost healed now. You’ve done all you can to help me.” Lalli’s tone was defeated, and painfully final. Emil’s heart wrenched. “I know you mean well but… save yourself. Just go.”

 

Emil felt the faint nausea that came from being in the forest. He could squabble with Lalli about this time and time again, but Emil knew that the forest would kill him. There was a kade to defeat and Lalli was stuck. There really was nothing he could do.

 

He said no words as he worked to leave, and Lalli made no effort to talk to him, but he threw out one last “Goodbye Lalli,” which garnered no response. Emotions swirled in his chest as he stomped through the mud, eyes darting around in watch for the damning red light. He missed Lalli already. He just wanted to run back and throw himself into the soft fur and sob into it, and Lalli would curl around him tightly, like he had before, and maybe everything would be okay.

 

Emil scoffed. Like hell it would.

 

He held the shield in aching knuckles, and trudged through the earth.

 

He’d come back, stronger, better, maybe in a few days, maybe in a few years. But he’d come back.

 

* * *

 

Captain Eide and some troops stood at the entrance to the forest, right where the lush earth decayed into sick, diseased mush.

 

She signaled with her arms, her face uncharacteristically stiff, and began to walk in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emil looks so weird w short hair lmfao
> 
> im not gonna upload the art to my art tumblr (irlkaijugroupie) but if yall want me to for whatever reason then go ahead and tell me


End file.
